Attending: From a medical standpoint, I strongly recommend that you quit. If you don’t stop drinking, your cirrhosis will get worse and you’ll likely end up back here with another bleed or liver failure.

Mr. Johnson: I’m not going into another one of those programs if that’s what you mean. And I don’t like AA – too much God stuff.

Attending: Would you be willing to come back and see me?

Mr. Johnson: What for?

Attending: You’re going to need blood counts and monitoring of your liver and other problems, and we can talk about what to do with your drinking, too.

Mr. Johnson: I suppose I could do that.

Attending: Again, I urge you to consider quitting. If you can’t quit, any cutting back would be helpful.